No abstract

Subject area Entrepreneurship; Social entrepreneurship. Study level/applicability Graduate level. Case overview This paper, The Brownies & Downies case study, aims to examine a social enterprise that provides employment, training and job placements for people with intellectual disability within a trendy artisanal coffee shop in Cape Town, South Africa. The business is based on a similar establishment (same name) in The Netherlands and was brought to Cape Town by Wendy Vermeulen, a Dutch national who completed a social development internship in Cape Town. The case is located within the field of social enterprise with a particular focus on the tension between purpose and profit and the pressure and challenges of replication, growth and scale/expansion. The protagonist in the case is Wade Schultz, Wendy’s business partner, who is grappling with how to not only remain true to the social purpose of the business but also turn a profit in the pressured and competitive coffee industry. He is further challenged by deciding whether to expand the existing training business into other sectors or seek a replication model in other South African cities as a means of growing revenue and increasing the social impact. Expected learning outcomes The key learning from this case study are as follows: First, intellectual disability is a hidden form of disability, often misunderstood and subject to prejudice and discriminatory hiring practices. Intellectual disability exists on a scale – some individuals are able to work outside of pretexted or sheltered workspaces. Greater effort is required within open workplaces to sensitive staff to working with/alongside intellectually disabled people. This case illustrates a social enterprise model that seeks to bridge the gap between sheltered workspaces and open workspaces. Second, most social enterprises grapple with the tension between profit and purpose; this case presents a company that is living this dilemma. The importance of remaining true to purpose needs to be balanced carefully against becoming economically self-sufficient; however, the pursuit of profits should not happen at the cost of social mission. Alternate business models are a mechanism to building revenue to support the social objective. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS: 3: Entrepreneurship.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has long been highlighted by business and society as essential. However, it has been suggested that over time, the relationship between the corporate donor and their CSR recipients has become fragmented. CSR investments that are predominantly business-driven have led to missed opportunities in fostering a potentially brand loyal market, developing future employees and entrepreneurs and facilitating innovation and growth within the broader economy. In order to address these short comings, it has been argued that a shift from CSR to corporate social entrepreneurship (CSE) may yield a broader set of benefits—for the company, its recipients and society at large. The aim of CSE is to create accelerated and disruptive change in pursuit of new social and economic opportunities. Literature, however, is limited as to the role stakeholders play in this process, especially in contexts where needs and values are not aligned. The current study, drawing on CSE theory, was undertaken to provide a mutually sustainable model of engagement between stakeholders. It also aims to address Porter and Kramer’s (2006) suggestion that there does not appear to be a strategically aligned process available for the benefits of both corporate donors and their recipients. A combination of phenomenology and Grounded Theory was used as methodological frameworks for this research. Staff from Dell Computers South Africa and two of their donor-funded recipients were used as part of the sample group. Eight categories emerged from the data analysis, and a conceptual model, based on the traditional Business Model Canvas, was developed. This model acts as a visual tool for corporates and recipients when engaging in CSE practices as well as a conceptual framework to inform future research and advance theory in the field of CSE.